Effective Praying

Like most Christians, I am sure that unconfessed sin has hindered my prayers as I don't always ask for forgiveness right away for sins I don't always recognize as such. I will pray for forgiveness at different times for these sins so that my heart will be cleansed of all unrighteousness. My problem is I don't always pray enough, even when I know I should. It is that small spirit of pride that I sometimes deal with that tells me I'm okay for the moment. There are some things that I should pray for but I don't. I should certainly pray for others more than I do, especially for the healing of those who have been sexually abused as I have in the past. I don't always pray for guidance in financial areas.

How would you handle such a hindrance if you encountered it?"

I need to confess any sin I commit immediately after or as soon as I recognized what God says is a sin. When I get angry, I must pray to stay calm and not give in to the chaos I feel in those times (especially during those times when in my bi-polarness I am manic and can't always control my outbursts). I must humble myself to pray more for others and in all circumstances. I have found that God wonderfully answers my prayers when I give the situation all to Him. I have received more peace and comfort from God than I would have ever expected before I knew Him.

If it weren't for God wanting to hear our prayers, we would all be, once again, drowning in our sorrows. But our great God has the biggest ears anyone could ever have. He hears every little thing we say. I have seen God fulfill even my little one word prayers in fantastic ways that I would have never thought He cared about. To me, prayer with God is more than just communication; it is Father and son loving each other, walking arm in arm, listening to every word the other has to say, while the Father encourages the son to continue walking along the straight path which leads to satisfaction and love beyond measure.

Comment: "I have often encountered people praying for themselves and not others."

Author's Response: I have been guilty of doing this too many times. I know that I should pray for others first, but that is not what always happens. I sometimes tend to focus on my own problems instead of the problems of others I know they are going through. I have to remind myself that praying is certainly not a 'me only' club. I have also been guilty of forgetting to pray for people who ask me to pray for them. In those times I have learned to pray with them right then and there, that way they are covered and their prayer may be fulfilled faster than if I had not prayed at all.

Comment: "I am not at liberty to walk in conflict today, and of course, the Lord certainly does not want me to, else why would He have given us the greatest commandment of all."

Author's Response: I believe that the main battlefield for unresolved conflict is in marriage and family. If we do not resolve our differences here, then we take the chance of losing all that we have built together. The devil spends a lot of his time getting married couples and families to argue about the stupidest of things. Scripture was very certainly correct when it tells us not to let the sun go down on our anger. The hardest time to resolve a conflict is when too much time has gone by and the person who was hurt the most has the time to replay the conflict in their mind, which gives the devil a chance to make the person believe that the conflict was much worse than it actually was, making a resolution that much harder to achieve. The Lord wants us to resolve conflicts quickly and in a loving way so others around us can see that we can love those around us even if we disagree from time to time. As humans, we don't all have the same opinions on everything, that's why we argue, but when we follow Jesus Christ we have His truth to stand on in all situations and our conflicts all end the same way in mercy and forgiveness for all involved.

Bobby Bruno was saved 15 years ago in a way that left him no doubt that Jesus wanted him to reach others with His great and abounding love. He started writing at the age of 12 and hasn't stopped since. He achieved Associates Degree in Biblical Studies from Ohio Christian University in early 2014.